When it comes to fantasy sub-genres there are certain ones that are more likely to be read by men, and certain ones more likely to be read by women.
For example:
- Romance Fantasy = Mostly women.
- Sword and Sorcery = Mostly men.
And you can pretty much tell which is which by looking at the book covers.
Below is two book covers from the Sword and Sorcery series "Wulfric the Wanderer" by fantasy author Charles Moffat.
Just looking at the cover for "Shifting Shadows in Iztark" and you KNOW this is a book aimed at men. And the description hammers that nail into the coffin. Similarly "Black Monoliths of Al-Kazar", while it doesn't have a woman on the cover, makes it pretty clear that this is a manly book.
Same goes with other books in the Wulfric the Wanderer series like "The Cult of the She-Bear" The crouching woman with a roaring bear behind her? The men wearing the heads of bears / bearskin cloaks? Yup, this is a book that is definitely aimed at men.
Nor is this considered a new thing for Sword and Sorcery. Behold an old "Conan the Freebooter" book, published in 1967.
Not one, but two scantily clad women on the cover of the book by the legendary Robert E. Howard (and L. Sprague de Camp).
Moffat's book covers look comparatively tame. His book covers have a distinctive sketch appearance, but if you look at the book description for "Shifting Shadows" you will note he is also listed as the illustrator, and the other covers are done in the same style so he must be the illustrator for them too. So evidently he's making his own book covers.
But if you want books aimed at men, honestly you cannot really go wrong with Sword and Sorcery books by either Robert E. Howard or Charles Moffat. Enjoy!
